Reviews and scouting reports on recent arrivals in the city’s dining scene.
Who doesn’t love street food? I sure do! Give me a corn dog, or maybe a big slice of New York City pizza that I can fold over and carry down the street, and I’m a happy boy.
So naturally I was delighted to discover a recent South End arrival, Á-Châu, which bears the magical words “Vietnamese Street Food” in big letters over the front door. Continue reading Street food in the South End: Á-Châu
I couldn’t leave the South End without checking another new spot, Cocoberry Pops, another street-food eatery that offers just one thing – a very good thing – Gourmet-style popsicles based on Mexican paletas. Continue reading Street food in the South End: Cocoberry Pops
When a restaurant launches in the springtime in Louisville, the owner invariably faces a difficult decision: Rush to open the doors before Derby season? Or take it easy and get all your culinary ducks in a row before opening up more gently in the post-Derby calm?
The issues involved in this decision are not trivial. Opening in time for Derby may pay off, but it poses challenges, too. If things go poorly, the train wreck happens in front of a critical audience.
So, props to Fork & Barrel’s owners, Chef Geoffrey Heyde and his wife, Emily, who risked opening on busy Frankfort Avenue just a few weeks before the race, following a quick but stylish remake of the space that had long housed Basa Modern Vietnamese. Continue reading Fork & Barrel’s warm vibe surrounds fine, pricey fare
Did you ever wait in line at Rumplings? I sure did. And I hated it when that little ramen-and-dumpling place just off Bardstown Road went away after only seven months.
So here’s good news: Griffin Paulin, one of the minds behind the original Rumplings team has opened Mirin, a new ramen-and-more shop on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton. Continue reading Mirin, Hai!
“Ciao!” Pronounce it “chow,” or something close to that, which makes it an ironically cheeky name for a friendly eatery. There’s ambiguity in this Italian greeting, though: Much like “Aloha” or “Shalom” or maybe even “Good Day,” you can use it to say hello, and you can also use it to say goodbye.
So let’s say “Ciao,” meaning “howdy,” to Ciao Ristorante, the warm and inviting establishment that has finally filled the long-vacant space where the beloved Baxter Station sadly said its “Ciao” as farewell in the summer of 2013. Continue reading When we say “Ciao” to Ciao, we mean hello and welcome
The East End Bridge will open this weekend, and when it does, Louisville will have more ways to get across the Ohio River than ever: four by car, two by train, and one on foot or via bicycle.
This is good news, because Southern Indiana has more good places to eat and drink than ever these days, and it would be foolish for hard-core Louisvillians to stay rooted sullenly on the Kentucky side when it’s time for dinner.
Today let’s thank Paul Skulas, past chef at Holy Grale and Gralehaus and now owner and chef of Jeffersonville’s new Portage House, for the latest and one of the most attractive new arrivals on the “Sunny Side.” Continue reading Get on the bridge of your choice and go to Portage House
When you think about a place named The Fat Lamb, if you think about it at all, you would probably imagine a temple of carnivorous delights.
And just as you would expect, Louisville’s new Fat Lamb offers some of Chef Dallas McGarity’s appealing takes on lamb, pig, cow, chicken, a bulging net full of seafood and fish. What’s more, there’s a similarly delicious cornucopia of healthy veggies. Continue reading We dine on the fat of the land, er, lamb, at Fat Lamb
Guy Fieri has brought his brand to town, and local foodies are all atwitter. The jokes just write themselves, and you can find them all over social media.
I’ve been trying to stay above the fray by ignoring it. I sent regrets on an invitation to a public relations extravaganza at the new Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse in Fourth Street Live. Apparently, if my colleague Michael Powell is to be believed, that soiree attracted a deplorable pack of food writers and bloggers with noses uniformly raised and pinkies delicately extended. Continue reading We try not to go all snob on Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse
The other night, as we rolled across the Sherman Minton Bridge to New Albany for an evening at Brooklyn and the Butcher, it crossed my mind that New Albany is actually a little bit like Brooklyn.
New Albany, like Brooklyn, is a city across a river from a larger city, long ignored by its neighbors, but suddenly awash with excellent new places to dine, drink and have a good time. And as with Brooklyn, crowds are starting to make their way over to check it out. Continue reading Brooklyn or New Albany? Brooklyn and the Butcher blurs the line
What’s my favorite national fare? How about “Whatever I had last”?
If you press me, though, I’m a big fan of all the cuisines of Asia, from the Levant through Iran, all the ‘stans and India, across Southeast Asia to China, Korea and Japan. Continue reading We clock in at Time 4 Thai
